Genesis 12:14
in Genesis 12So when Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And it came to pass, that, when Abram was come into Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the woman that she was very fair.
KJV
And it came to pass, that, when Abram was come into Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the woman that she was very fair.
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This verse in Genesis 12
Commentary
7 notes on this verseAnd it came to pass, that, when Abram was come into Egypt,.... To the city of Heliopolis; for there it was that Abram had his abode, as Eupolemus (r) says, when upon the famine he went into Egypt, and where he conversed with the Egyptian priests, and taught them astrology, and other things belonging to it; and of this descent of Abram into Egypt, and teaching astrology, Artapanus (s), another Heathen writer, speaks; Abram, he says, having learned the science of astrology, went first into Phoenicia and taught it the Phoenicians, and afterwards went into Egypt, and taught it there.
This site's exposition
the woman was very beautiful
on Genesis 12:14-16
Pharaoh's officials commend Sarai, and she is taken into the palace. Abram is paid for her in sheep and cattle, donkeys, menservants and maidservants, and camels. The woman who is to bear the promised son is inside another man's house, and the man who carries the promise grows rich on it.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
There came a famine, and so he went to Egypt. He knew that in Egypt the dissipation of youth was widespread, characterized by lust, impudent desires and unrestrained passions. He understood that among such men the modesty of his wife would be defenseless and that her beauty would be a danger for him. So he told his wife to say that she was his sister. By this we are taught that it is not so much beauty that one should seek in a wife, for this often leads to the death of the husband.
Abraham gave a human reason as human beings do. Nevertheless, because Sarah thought it was Abraham who was sterile, she was taken to the palace.
On the literal level Abraham made an intelligent compromise with the lustfulness of the Egyptians, being certain that God, who had made him leave his own country, would watch over his marriage.
The Medieval Church1 voice
And when he was about to enter Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife: "I know that you are a beautiful woman, and that when the Egyptians see you, they will say that you are his wife, and they will kill me and keep you …
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
when Abram was come into Egypt--It appears from the monuments of that country that at the time of Abram's visit a monarchy had existed for several centuries. The seat of government was in the Delta, the most northern part of the country, the very quarter in which Abram must have arrived.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
[THOU ART MY SISTER.] Achoti (my sister) is penultimately accented. Ordinarily the accent would be placed on the last syllable.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
12 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְהִ֕י | vayhi | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| כְּב֥וֹא | kevo' | when entered | H935 → | 2568 times |
| אַבְרָ֖ם | ʾavram | Abram | H87 → | 61 times |
| מִצְרָ֑יְמָה | mitzrayemah | Egypt <towards> | H4714 → | 641 times |
| וַיִּרְא֤וּ | vaiyiru | and they saw | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| הַמִּצְרִים֙ | hamitzrim | the Egyptians | H4713 → | 70 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הָ֣אִשָּׁ֔ה | haishah | the woman | H802 → | 781 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| יָפָ֥ה | yafah | [was] beautiful | H3303 → | 42 times |
| הִ֖וא | hi' | she | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| מְאֹֽד׃ | meod | very | H3966 → | 300 times |
וַיְהִ֕יand it was
vayhiH1961 →3559 times
כְּב֥וֹאwhen entered
kevo'H935 →2568 times
אַבְרָ֖םAbram
ʾavramH87 →61 times
מִצְרָ֑יְמָהEgypt <towards>
mitzrayemahH4714 →641 times
וַיִּרְא֤וּand they saw
vaiyiruH7200 →1300 times
הַמִּצְרִים֙the Egyptians
hamitzrimH4713 →70 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הָ֣אִשָּׁ֔הthe woman
haishahH802 →781 times
כִּֽי־that
ki-H3588 →4482 times
יָפָ֥ה[was] beautiful
yafahH3303 →42 times
הִ֖ואshe
hi'H1931 →1879 times
מְאֹֽד׃very
meodH3966 →300 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Genesis 3:6When the woman saw that the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eyes, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom, she took the fruit and ate it. She also gave…
it leads to
- 1 John 2:16
For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not from the Father but from the world.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- 1 Timothy 2:14
And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman who was deceived and fell into transgression.
- Joshua 7:21
When I saw among the spoils a beautiful cloak from Shinar, two hundred shekels of silver, and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in…
- 1 John 2:16
Through
Matthew 5:28But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
it leads to
- James 1:14–15
But each one is tempted when by his own evil desires he is lured away and enticed.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Samuel 11:2
One evening David got up from his bed and strolled around on the roof of the palace. And from the roof he saw a woman bathing—a very beautiful woman.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Proverbs 6:25
Do not lust in your heart for her beauty or let her captivate you with her eyes.
- Exodus 20:17
You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, or his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
- James 1:14–15
Through
Genesis 6:2the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they took as wives whomever they chose.
it leads to
- Psalms 82:6–7
I have said, ‘You are gods; you are all sons of the Most High.’
- Psalms 82:6–7
Where this verse is studied
About Genesis
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Ambrose of Milan, ON ABRAHAM 1.2.6; Bede, Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron); Didymus the Blind, On Genesis; Ephrem the Syrian, COMMENTARY ON GENESIS 9:3; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.